Misty Moor

There seem to have been many, many January days like this day from back in the autumn of 2012. Dark, dreary days that seem to leech all the warmth and colour from the world. Days that sap all the life and vitality from us. I am very much solar-powered. When the sun shines, I shine. When all is grey, I am grey. January is always the bleakest time of the year; the sparkling lights and joyfest of Christmas is over, the weather is cold and wet, the days are short and dark. This year all that seems exacerbated by lockdown. I find it fascinating that other countries choose to refer to these conditions as quarantine: A condition, period of time, or place in which a person, animal, plant, vehicle, or amount of material suspected of carrying an infectious agent is kept in confinement or isolated in an effort to prevent disease from spreading, whereas we (the government?) in the UK have chosen lockdown: 1) A protocol followed in an emergency that involves confining people in a secure place, such as the confinement of prison inmates in cells after a disturbance, or the locking of students and teachers in classrooms after a violent attack, or 2) a facility, such as a prison, where people considered to be dangerous are locked inside living quarters or otherwise confined. One refers to preventative measures for protection of others, whereas the other, perhaps aptly so in regards to our governments entire pandemic response, infers action taken after an emergency has already taken place and extreme danger. Prior to the pandemic, my first thought when hearing the word lockdown would be of prison, after an incident such as a riot. Now, subconsciously perhaps, I have carried that association across to our current situation, and I'm not downplaying the dangerousness of the situation, but rather that in the use of the word lockdown the connotations are that we are being punished for our actions rather than reining in the spread of a disease and taking care of our collective health. All this to say I'm feeling the constraints of the current lockdown, feeling the monotony of it, feeling trapped and, perhaps, have too much time to (over)think.

 

I'm wearing:

 

Dress (old): Matalan

Coat (old): H&M

Bag: handmade

Scarf: market

Tights: Wilkos

Socks: my husband's

Boots: Ebay

Earrings: Sylvan Stories

 

Photos taken by Tich

 

Photos originally posted October 22nd, 2012 here